It seems fairly obvious that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was joking last June when he told some House Republican colleagues on a conference call that he thought Donald Trump was was being paid by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The real question is why House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, and other GOP leaders laughed so readily. They wouldn't have unless they all shared the common thought that their presidential candidate -- almost five months before he was elected -- was a little too chummy with the Russian leader.

This doesn't suggest that anyone believed that Trump was getting anything from Putin, and no evidence has yet been revealed to support that allegation through now months of investigation. But it does say the group was privy to the "inside joke" that Trump was in the sway of Putin.

The "joke" only works if the hearers believe there is some truth to it. McCarthy likens Trump to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., who is known in Congress a staunch supporter of Putin and Russia.

McCarthy: There's...there's two people, I think, Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump...[laughter]...swear to God.

Ryan: This is an off the record...[laughter]...NO LEAKS...[laughter]...alright?!

[Laughter]

Ryan: This is how we know we're a real family here.

Scalise: That's how you know that we're tight.

[Laughter]

Ryan: What's said in the family stays in the family.

It's interesting that Ryan, who was a reluctant convert to Trump's presidential campaign, jumps in before the joke becomes a running gag. The references to "family" seem to suggest that they need to put their concerns aside to preserve party unity.

That may have been fine then, although you could make the argument that these Republican leaders should have been more forthcoming about their concerns as Russia became a major issue in the campaign.

The point is that now, with the president sharing classified information with Russian diplomats and pushing for the end of an FBI probe into possible Russian meddling in the election, these leaders must put their nation ahead of party and partisan passions.

And they certainly need to do everything necessary to make sure that these issues are thoroughly investigated and resolved. If there was no collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russia -- and no evidence has yet been produced -- we all should know that.

Unfortunately, McCarthy and Ryan did not get off to a good start regarding this conversation.

When initially asked to comment on the exchange, the Post reported, Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Ryan, said: "That never happened," and Matt Sparks, a spokesman for McCarthy, said: "The idea that McCarthy would assert this is absurd and false."

After being told that The Post would cite a recording of the exchange, Buck, speaking for the GOP House leadership, said: "This entire year-old exchange was clearly an attempt at humor. No one believed the majority leader was seriously asserting that Donald Trump or any of our members were being paid by the Russians. What's more, the speaker and leadership team have repeatedly spoken out against Russia's interference in our election, and the House continues to investigate that activity."

"This was a failed attempt at humor," Sparks said.

It wasn't particularly funny then. It is deadly serious now.

Tim Morris is an opinions columnist at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. He can be reached at tmorris@nola.com. Follow him on Twitter @tmorris504.